Human cognitive functions are affected by music and bodily movement. Learning can be difficult without basic rhythmic skills. Rhythm underlies patterns of breathing and movement and helps to organize incoming sensory perception into coherent new patterns of learning. Movement has been shown to raise the levels of endorphins, which are important to mood, cognition, behavior, and personality, in the brain. Movement also can stimulate a person's metabolism and build muscles.
Exercise videos combine music and movement to demonstrate techniques to burn fat or increase muscle tone. The videos teach users movements chosen for their ability to increase the user's metabolism or to facilitate muscle growth. Such videos generally require the user to learn the new exercise move and then perform the exercise move. Typically, the music in such videos is meant primarily as a form of entertainment to keep the interest of the individual. In some exercise videos, the music can be used to set a rhythm to which the movements are performed.
Interactive video games, especially those in which participants must match certain dance steps, also combine music and movement for entertainment purposes. In such games, a user watches a display monitor, such as a television screen, and reacts to images shown on the monitor. Sensors monitor the movements of the user in response to the displayed images. Some games also require the user to react to images displayed on the screen and in response to music being played to the user. For example, Dance, Dance, Revolution™ requires users to view dance steps on a video display screen and then mimic the dance steps using a mat equipped to record the movements of the user.